This page will showcase numerous sites for differentiating instruction using technology. Topics will include the use of PowerPoints, WebQuests, Internet sites, multimedia, video streaming, problem based learning, web based games, simulations, podcasting, digital storytelling, Google Applications for Education, free or low cost internet applications, and other applicable methods to reach each and every child.
This page was co-created by Beth Rayl from W-A-Y (Widening Advancements for Youth) and Monique Uzelac from the Ann Arbor Public Schools.
DIFFERENTIATING FOR CONTENT http://www.lexile.com/ (The Lexile Framework - finding leveled text for student readiness)
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ (Discovery's educational site that integrates over 80,000 video clips, virtual labs, interactive activities, audio files, and lesson plans)
http://www.prometheanplanet.com/ (Promethean's website that shares thousands of lesson plans, FlipChart demonstrations that can be viewed with the free FlipChart viewer, weblinks, and a forum to collaborate with other educators)
http://www.izzit.org/ (Current events lessons, contests, games, and educational DVDs)
http://www.teenhealthandwellness.com/ (This database provides students with curricular support and self-help on topics such as diseases, drugs, alcohol, fitness, nutrition, etc)
http://more.mel.org/index.php (MORE serves as the gateway to a large collection of lesson plans and digital resources. This portal is a partnership between the Michigan Department of Education and Verizon Thinkfinity)
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/ (Resources for preschool through second grade designed to make learning fun through themes, units, displays, literacy connections, and math connections)
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ (The Public Broadcasting System mega site of educational resources for all grade levels and content areas)
http://www.sciencefix.com/ (Website for middle school or high school science teachers created by a middle school science teacher. The site includes lessons, video demonstrations, and webquests)
http://www.awesomestories.com/ (Awesome Stories is a gathering place of primary source information that was launched in 1999 to warehouse original sources from national archives, museums, historical societies, and governmental websites)
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vLibrary.html (The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives is an NSF supported project that houses a library of interactive, web-based virtual manipulatives and concept tutorials)
DIFFERENTIATING FOR PROCESS http://www.thinkfinity.org/ (Educational games and resources from the Verizon Foundation)
http://www.edutopia.org/ (The George Lucas Educational Foundation website that includes videos, project learning resources, and technology integration ideas)
http://msteacher.org/ (A portal that houses a math pathway and a science pathway to assist middle school teachers in their quest to differentiate instruction)
http://www.funbrain.com (Location for interactive educational games, especially designed for K-8 students)
DIFFERENTIATING FOR PRODUCT http://webquest.org/index.php (Hosted by San Diego State University, this is the most comprehensive resource for webquests on the Internet)
http://www.adcouncil.org/Impact(The leading producer of public service announcements PSAs that address critical social issues)
http://www.chainstories.eu/index.php?id=16&L= (The Chain Stories project from the United Kingdom in which students from 8 to 12 engage in creative writing in their mother tongue. The students write a part of a story which is then passed on to other schools, within a chain, for completion)
http://iconics.cehd.umn.edu/ (The Virtual Museum of Educational Iconics is a collection of images of artifacts from ancient Greece to the 20th century from locations around the globe)
http://librivox.org/ (LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the net)
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-grade.php (Literacy education site designed by literacy coaches, teachers, and school leaders with experience in dozens of diverse classrooms. The site provides tools, guides, literacy lessons, and sage advice)
http://www.thegateway.org/(A massive effort by the U.S. Department of Education to create a central database of resources from federal, state, university, nonprofit, and commercial sites)
This page was co-created by Beth Rayl from W-A-Y (Widening Advancements for Youth) and Monique Uzelac from the Ann Arbor Public Schools.
DIFFERENTIATING FOR CONTENT
http://www.lexile.com/ (The Lexile Framework - finding leveled text for student readiness)
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ (Discovery's educational site that integrates over 80,000 video clips, virtual labs, interactive activities, audio files, and lesson plans)
http://www.prometheanplanet.com/ (Promethean's website that shares thousands of lesson plans, FlipChart demonstrations that can be viewed with the free FlipChart viewer, weblinks, and a forum to collaborate with other educators)
http://www.izzit.org/ (Current events lessons, contests, games, and educational DVDs)
http://www.teenhealthandwellness.com/ (This database provides students with curricular support and self-help on topics such as diseases, drugs, alcohol, fitness, nutrition, etc)
http://more.mel.org/index.php (MORE serves as the gateway to a large collection of lesson plans and digital resources. This portal is a partnership between the Michigan Department of Education and Verizon Thinkfinity)
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/ (Resources for preschool through second grade designed to make learning fun through themes, units, displays, literacy connections, and math connections)
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ (The Public Broadcasting System mega site of educational resources for all grade levels and content areas)
http://www.sciencefix.com/ (Website for middle school or high school science teachers created by a middle school science teacher. The site includes lessons, video demonstrations, and webquests)
http://www.awesomestories.com/ (Awesome Stories is a gathering place of primary source information that was launched in 1999 to warehouse original sources from national archives, museums, historical societies, and governmental websites)
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/j/jelinekd/ACT/DifferentiatedInstruction.htm (Project ACT site from California State University. Lists several examples of ways to differentiate in the classroom)
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vLibrary.html (The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives is an NSF supported project that houses a library of interactive, web-based virtual manipulatives and concept tutorials)
DIFFERENTIATING FOR PROCESS
http://www.thinkfinity.org/ (Educational games and resources from the Verizon Foundation)
http://www.edutopia.org/ (The George Lucas Educational Foundation website that includes videos, project learning resources, and technology integration ideas)
http://msteacher.org/ (A portal that houses a math pathway and a science pathway to assist middle school teachers in their quest to differentiate instruction)
http://www.funbrain.com (Location for interactive educational games, especially designed for K-8 students)
http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/ (Games and simulations based on Nobel Prize awarded achievements)
http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/ppt-games/ (Free PowerPoint games for the classroom)
http://www.uen.org/tours/index.shtml (Virtual Field Trips from the Utah Education Network)
http://www.readwritethink.org (International Reading Association website with Classroom Resources and multiple activities for students)
http://bubbl.us/ (bubbl.us is a free, online brainstorming and web application)
http://prezi.com (Free online presentation tool)
DIFFERENTIATING FOR PRODUCT
http://webquest.org/index.php (Hosted by San Diego State University, this is the most comprehensive resource for webquests on the Internet)
http://www.adcouncil.org/Impact (The leading producer of public service announcements PSAs that address critical social issues)
http://web001.greece.k12.ny.us/academics.cfm?subpage=1282 (The Greece Central School District's exceptional page of curriculum resources)
http://www.chainstories.eu/index.php?id=16&L= (The Chain Stories project from the United Kingdom in which students from 8 to 12 engage in creative writing in their mother tongue. The students write a part of a story which is then passed on to other schools, within a chain, for completion)
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Educational/educational.htm (Fun and educational solar projects for students that include solar physics, model wind generators, PV powered boats/cars, and building a solar balloon)
http://www.microsoft.com/education/lessonplans.mspx (Lesson plans from Microsoft on how to integrate technology into the curriculum)
http://apple.com/education/resources (Lesson plans and activities from Apple on how to integrate technology into the curriculum)
http://www.google.com/educators/tools.html (Google's free tools for education and examples of how to use them)
http://www.techteachers.com/digitalstorytelling.htm (Digital Storytelling examples and directions on how the projects were developed)
DIFFERENTIATING FOR LEARNING PROFILE/MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire (Self-assessment for learning style)
http://lifelines.dcboces.org/lifelines2/homework-help.html (Homework resources to help students in grades K-4)
http://www.commoncraft.com/ (Three minute videos to help educators explain complex subjects)
http://www.coolmath4kids.com/ (An amusement park of math)
http://iconics.cehd.umn.edu/ (The Virtual Museum of Educational Iconics is a collection of images of artifacts from ancient Greece to the 20th century from locations around the globe)
http://www.kidinfo.com/SchoolSubjects.html (A helpful site that houses links to quality websites, educational videos, and educational powerpoints)
http://surfaquarium.com/MI/intelligences.htm (Numerous resources for teaching to the Multiple Intelligences)
http://www.exploratorium.org/ (The museum of science, art, and human perception)
http://www.lakelandschools.org/departments.cfm?subpage=914 (The Lakeland Central School District in New York's excellent page of resources for differentiating instruction using technology)
DIFFERENTIATING FOR INTEREST
http://www.tech4learning.com/ (Numerous free or low cost ideas for using technology in the classroom)
http://youthvoices.net/ (A meeting place where youth share, distribute, and discuss their digital content online)
http://www.jigsaw.org/overview.htm (Overview of the use of Jigsaw groups)
http://www.leadingpbl.net/ (Project Based Learning - what it is and how to develop effective PBL lessons, projects, and units)
http://www.wested.org/pblnet/exemplary_projects.html (Excellent examples of project based learning)
http://faculty.usiouxfalls.edu/arpeterson/scavenger_hunts.htm (Internet Scavenger hunts for elementary education)
OTHER USEFUL SITES:
http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/ (An excellent collection of Web 2.0 tools for teachers)
http://digitalbooktalk.com/?page_id=6 (Digital book trailers designed by and for students)
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com (The world's largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens)
http://librivox.org/ (LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the net)
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-grade.php (Literacy education site designed by literacy coaches, teachers, and school leaders with experience in dozens of diverse classrooms. The site provides tools, guides, literacy lessons, and sage advice)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/ (A source for daily research news for Science)
http://www.educationworld.com/help/guide.shtml (The Education World website is a massive host for lessons and activities from a variety of content areas)
http://www.thegateway.org/ (A massive effort by the U.S. Department of Education to create a central database of resources from federal, state, university, nonprofit, and commercial sites)
http://www.unmuseum.org/unmain.htm (The Museum of Unnatural Mystery)
http://www.free.ed.gov/ (Federal Resources for Educational Excellence)
http://www.nasa.gov/ (NASA's official website with numerous educational resources)
Further Learning:
http://21things.weebly.com/index.html
http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstructudl.html